Luffy's Winter Wonder Land
by Ghost of the moonlight
Summary: This is another story about Luffy's younger days. Its his first snow day and his brothers send him off alone to enjoy it. But what happens when disaster strikes? Warning the end contains MAJOR spoilers. Do not read if you are not up to date with the manga
1. Snow? Whats that?

Luffy's Winter Wonder Land

Sabo blinked awake as the sun hit his face and the first thing he noticed was the chill in the air. "_Brrr. Why the hell is it so cold in here?" _He thought to himself shivering under his blanket. Ace noticed it to for when he got up a few minutes later he said the same thing.

"What the hell? Why is it so cold in here?"

"Morning, Ace." Sabo said with a yawn.

"Mmf." He grumbled angry that his sleep had been disturbed. Ace was not a morning person after all.

"I'm hungry. Wake up Luffy!" He said after a few minutes delivering his usual good morning smack to Luffy's head. Slowly Luffy opened his eyes, stretched, the just sat there for several seconds before:

"Hey it's cold in here!" and he dived back under his blanket.

"And the prize for slowest idiot on the face of the Earth goes to you Luffy. Congratulations." Ace said sarcastically.

"Oh… that explains it. Ace come look." Sabo said standing at the window.

"WOW!" Luffy cried excited forgetting about how cold he was for the moment. Out below them the forest had been covered in a blanket of thick white snow. Snow was a rare occurrence in east blue, them having more tropical islands instead. It did still happen from time to time though. Ace and Sabo glanced at each other sharing an amused smirk at Luffy's reaction. Luffy was bouncing up and down, his eyes shining asking over and over

"What is that? What is that? It's so cool!"

"It's called snow. It's really fun to play in but also really cold so dress warmly." Sabo replied laughing as Luffy continued to bounce.

"It snowed once when Sabo and I were five. You wouldn't remember it because you would have only been two." Ace explained. Luffy looked over at them both with wonder and delight plastered on his face. Sabo grinned and beckoned for Luffy to follow him.

"Let's find you some warm clothes if you're going out to play. Sense this is your first snow fall you go and enjoy yourself while Ace and I take care of the hunting. That ok with you Ace?"

"Yea sure, have fun Luffy." Ace said grinning. Sabo managed to find a coat, gloves, hat and boots. Luffy was so excited he tried to run out with only sandals on his feet.

"Not so fast stupid." Ace said grabbing Luffy by his hood and lifting him into the air by it. (Ace did this so that Luffy would have to pay attention to him)

"You need to put something on your feet." He said sternly. A few minutes later and Luffy was racing away to enjoy his first snow day ever. Ace and Sabo watched him go before heading off themselves.


	2. The Mystery Powder

There was a reason behind Ace and Sabo's decision to let Luffy have the day off, and it was more then them being just nice. Hunting was always harder in the snow. Running was harder and the animals always became twice as fierce due to the sudden temperature change. They had both decided that sending Luffy off would be safer. After all Luffy had a knack for always getting hurt and/or eaten before they managed to kill the creature.

Luffy was delighted by this snow stuff. It was a powder but if you stuck your tong out it became water. Plus you could role it into a ball, make tunnels in it and best of all, it made the hills all slippery and fun to slide on. He just decided that it was a mystery powder and left it at that. He loved it! Snow was the best! The only thing he didn't like was the fact the he was having trouble walking, running and jumping but he didn't mind all that much. Who needed to walk anywhere when you could just find a hill and slide down it? It was much faster anyway.

"Alright fine Sabo you were right. A tiger is to much to handle on a day like today." Ace grumbled.

"See, I told you we should go get some nice big gators. They get weaker in cold weather." Sabo said to his annoyed brother.

"Hey I wonder how Luffy is." Ace said smiling.

"Having the time of his life no doubt." Sabo answered and they both started to giggle as they tried to imagine the kinds of things he was doing right now as they headed over to the river.

Luffy stood with his mouth hanging open as he received the biggest shock today had brought him. The river was frozen… how cool was that! He really should have been paying more attention though for had it not been he would be dead right now. On his walk he had discovered a rather steep his and without even thinking he had leaped right on sliding down at an unstoppable speed. Even when he hit the bottom he had kept right on going tumbling and rolling. Of course this was just part of the fun he was having and didn't notice where he was until he had come to a stop, face down on the ice. He had watched fish darted around below him amazed. He wasn't really sure why the river was frozen, but he could guess it had something to do with the snow. Snow really was the best! What Luffy didn't see was huge, hungry gator watching him from just below the ice.

"Alright Ace you know how this works; you trick the gator into coming up and I will ambush it from behind once its out from under the ice." Sabo said to Ace.

"Agreed…wait who's that on the ice…Luffy?" Ace shouted in shock. Sabo looked over equally shocked and they both frantically began to scream.

"Luffy! Get off the ice now! LOOK OUT!"

Luffy looked over a second to late because suddenly a huge gator tail hit the ice where he had been standing; knocking him into the air.

"LUFFY" both Ace and Sabo screamed taking action immediately. Ace ran for the gator while Sabo ran to catch Luffy before he could fall into the icy water below.

"Damn gator." Ace yelled furiously as it attacked him. Another one had come out and attacked Sabo blocking his path to Luffy.

"Shit. There beginning to swarm! Oh-no Luffy!" Sabo cried frustrated as he watched him fall in the water.

"Ace we have to hurry!" With that the boys lunged at the waiting gators.

Luffy was sinking like a stone as usual and he felt so weak and useless. That was normal for when he fell in the water though. What was not was this incredibly cold sensation that he could feel all over his body. It hurt but was also making him feel incredibly tired. The ocean had gained a new power it seemed to Luffy as he blacked out.

Ace jumped into the freezing cold water and began to haul Luffy out.

"Man this was just so stupid and it was all his and Sabo's fault! Just cause they didn't want to take Luffy hunting with them where he would have been safer. What where they thinking when they thought he would be better off on his own." He thought to himself. Now not only might he have drowned but his skin was a pale blue color. He was just so cold. Sabo was waiting the minute he surfaced with two jackets in his hand. One for Ace, one for Luffy. Ace took both and rapped them around Luffy but his skin color did not change. Worse he had begun to shiver uncontrollably. The shivers were getting weaker and weaker by the second. Ace new that was a bad thing. They frantically began to race to Dadans as fast as they could go.


	3. Stupid Decisions

By the time Ace and Sabo made it to Dadan's place Luffy was in much worse shape then before. His shivers had become just occasional weak shudders and his skin had turned a new shade of blue and black due to frostbite. Fever from Hypothermia had begun to set in.

"Dadan open up! We need your help!" Sabo yelled banging on the door. Dadan heard him but at first did nothing. She hated everything about the cold weather and was very reluctant to open the door. That after all would result in letting the cold air in and she did not want to do that.

"Dadan Luffy could die! Open up!"

The door swung open and they ran inside. She took one look at Luffy and her heart sunk. It could very well already be to late.

"Dadan… please save him." Ace begged her. Wait Ace was begging her for something! The same Ace that never asked anyone for anything! She was already doing something though. She ordered her men to start getting hot water ready while she took off Luffy's soaking wet clothes. Ace and Sabo collapsed on the floor completely useless at this point; there energy spent just getting here.

"Listen up men! Go into town and drag every doctor you can here." Dadan ordered her men and they ran out the door. With that she turned face to Ace and Sabo he face red with rage.

"How could you let this happen?" She yelled her words felt like bullets to the pair. Dadan was pacing in front of them furiously.

"How could this have happened with you two around? He's your little brother for God's sakes! Its your jobs to protect him as the oldest and the strongest! He's trusting you two to do that! If he dies…" she trailed off unable to continue.

"Don't you think we already know that?" Ace growled taking Dadan by surprise.

"Well do you? We were being stupid! We let him go off on by himself because we thought he would be safer! And its this stupid decision of ours that could kill our baby brother!" With that said Ace got up and stormed away. Sabo, on the other hand, couldn't hold in his emotions any more and broke down crying.


	4. The Meaning of Strength

When the doctor arrived, a few hours later, he was shocked to find Luffy alive with his condition. His fever had risen to around 110 degrees and the frostbite had gotten worse; not better. He was hardly breathing at all taking a few weak gasps for air every few seconds then he would just lie still. After several hours of hard, nonstop work the doctor managed to get Luffy's fever down to around 101 degrees, and the frostbite was gone.

"I have done all that I can do now. I will be taking my leave now." The doctor said then turned and was gone.

"It will be a miracle if that kid can live through the night." The doctor had said to Dadan earlier. A kid so young should not be subjected to such harsh treatment.

"Don't underestimate Luffy." Dadan said harshly

"That kid is stronger that he looks."

A few weeks later Luffy did wake up in the middle of the night, to find himself in a dark room. His vision was blurry and his throat feel soar and dry. He looked around trying to figure out where he was. Had he died? The thought scared the seven year old; he didn't want to die and be alone in this darkness.

"Oh-no Ace will kill me if I died!" he whimpered worriedly. Ace heard the noise and jolted out of his sleep. Gently he shoved his elbow into Sabo's rib cage and held a finger up to his grinning mouth. Sabo, slightly annoyed and rubbing his now bruised rib, nodded.

"Sabo is going to be disappointed with me for dieing." Luffy continued to fret unaware that his brothers were sitting next to trying not to laugh.

"And then… and then… they are going to leave me for being so weak!"

The laughter died in their throats. Did he truly think that That was all they cared about?

"I hate being dead! Whaaaaa…" Luffy said beginning to sob.

"IDIOT!" Both Ace and Sabo yelled jumping and hitting him on the head

"Ace? Sabo? You died two? Oh-no! We all died and are trapped here!"

Sabo shook his head holding his templates while Ace hit him again.

"Dammit Luffy you aren't dead, we aren't dead! And if you ever say something like that again you will be!" Ace shouted

"Oh! You aren't dead! I'm sorry!"

"That's not what he was talking about Luffy." Sabo said.

"If how strong you are really mattered then we wouldn't have bothered to save you! We don't really care about that!" Ace shouted.

"Then… why are you always training so hard?"

"So we can be strong enough to protect the things that really matter."

"To… protect?" Luffy asked.

"Yes. Strength means nothing if you don't use it for a good reason. Like protecting your little brother if he is in danger." Ace said in a gentler voice.

"Ok. I understand. To protect. Then your not going to leave me behind for being weak?" Luffy asked worriedly.

"No we are not going to leave you behind. We are only going to help make you stronger so we don't have to worry so much."

"Good." Luffy said relived then collapsed back down on the bed exhausted.

"Heh, get some sleep Luffy. The sooner you get well the better. Dadan's been nothing but a pain in the ass sense we got here and we want to go."

Luffy nodded and began to snore as sleep took him. Ace and Sabo watched him grinning before falling asleep themselves.


	5. Ace and Sabo: Their Incredible Strength

_Sabo watched in horror as the Blue Jam pirates attacked his brothers. He was afraid of his father, afraid of going back to a life of loneliness, but whenever he closed his eyes he was back in Dadan's room listening to Ace explain to Luffy what strength was. _

_"Strength means nothing if you don't use it for a good reason." _

_Knowing what he had to do he screamed at the pirates, at his father, to stop…_

_Ace looked down at the fist sticking out of his stomach. It hurt like hell but he had made this choice on his own. He also remembered the words he said that night and knew he had made the right choice. He had used the last of his strength to protect the one thing that was more important than anything else. His little brother. The pain had numbed to a dull ache as did his life. As he said his final goodbyes and made piece with the world, he died with a smile on his face. _


End file.
